Most read

Blanding was driving with her sister Kylee Blanding, 25, north on U.S. 42 in an Oldsmobile Alero when it slid off the road, over-corrected and traveled left of center into the path of a Chevrolet Trailblazer just before noon, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol post in Lebanon.

Makenna Blanding was pronounced dead at the scene, her sister was treated for non life-threatening injuries and released from Atrium Medical Center in Middletown.

The other driver, Daniel Harvey, 42, of Xenia, the driver of the SUV, was taken to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton and was in critical condition, according to Lt. Chuck O’Bryon, commander of the Lebanon post. Harvey was not listed at the hospital on Wednesday.

Blanding attended Fairmont High School in Kettering as a sophomore in 2015-2016, before transferring to Lakota Local Schools in Butler County, according to Fairmont officials.

She and her sister were driving to their home nearby on Collett Road near Spring Valley Marsh when the crash occurred, O’Bryon said.

The post commander said four of the year’s 12 fatal crashes were caused by drivers going left of center and another four were attributed to a failure to yield.

“A lot of it is the result of distracted driving,” he said.

Both Blandings and Harvey were wearing their seatbelts, according to O’Bryon.

Lakota school officials said Blanding was not currently attending a school in the district and there was no record of her attending school there. Other attempts to get more information about her were unsuccessful.

Staff writer Jeremy Kelley and the WHIO TV Breaking News team contributed to this report.